[Nexus] which SAS instrument can serve as example for state-of-the-art NeXus usage? more examples are needed anyway.

[Pete Jemian]

Joachim:

Good question.

First point:
------------

The FAQ wording is not meant to offend or to be disconcerting.  That 
will be changed to better reflect the consensus that forms this question.

Second question:
----------------

Yes, the answer is unsatisfactory because the situation is 
unsatisfactory.  At present, we have no files amongst the examples 
available which have been written to the NXsas specification.  I have 
received a couple of files that have been written to (almost) comply 
with past revisions of NXsas but those examples should not be posted yet.

The NXsas specification, like all the other NXDL files, is pre-release. 
  We expect to be releasing them before the end of 2011.  The 
specification is open for review and revision at this time.

At minimum, a single example, compliant with NXsas, is needed.

We have one instrument here at the APS writing raw 2-D data files (from 
a Pilatus 100k) according to NXsas.  These files do not yet have the 
reduced I(Q) stored.  When they are deemed good enough, one or more will 
be picked from the "conveyor belt" and posted to the examples repository.

There are also many example files from the canSAS1d/1.0 data standard 
which I will convert into 1-D versions of the NXsas specification.  This 
will happen likely before the NXDL is released, but the release does not 
depend on these examples.

If I write my data according to the current NXsas specification, will 
other software be able to read my data?  Yes.  NXsas, like other 
application definitions, defines and names the minimum information 
required for analysis or data processing.  If other information is also 
present, there is no guarantee that SAS analysis software will notice.

Third question: Which SAS instrument use NXsas?
-----------------------------------------------

It is time for a show of hands since we have no list.
Here's what I know:

* APS 15ID-C USAXS/Pinhole SAXS uses it for the pinhole instrument
* ANSTO Quokka has written data to it
* others?

Regards,
     Pete



On 10/28/2011 12:16 PM, j.wuttke wrote:
> Dear colleagues,
>
> FAQ D.11 says:
>
> Q: Specifications are boring. Where can I find some good example data
> files?
>
> A: There are a few checked into the definitions repository. At the
> moment the
> selection is quite limited and not very representative.
>
> The answer is unsatisfactory, but what I find really disconcerting is the
> wording of the question. "Specifications are boring" suggests that examples
> are no more than a luxury, a shortcut for those who are too lazy to read.
>
> No, specifications are not just boring, they are also terribly complicated,
> and more often than not they are inconsistent and incomplete - and mature
> specifications that are believed to be basically correct are all the more
> complicated. Ever heard of somebody learning a programming language from
> an ISO document?
>
> Based on the NeXus reference, I could certainly implement write-out and
> read-in
> routines so that I could transfer data from my instrument to my
> data-analysis
> program. But would my experimental data be read by other programs? Would my
> program read data from other instruments? Wouldn't I produce NeXus only
> in name:
> syntactically correct but falling short of our main objective, portability?
>
> I am aware that there is a long community process behind the application
> classes. But this process has left no visible trace in the reference. To
> make
> a connection between abstract specifications and actual implementations,
> I would appreciate a list of instruments supporting NeXus, with links to
> exemplary data files.
>
> More specifically, for urgent needs at JCNS, I would like to ask which SAS
> instrument can serve as example for state-of-the-art NeXus usage.
>
> Best regards, Joachim
>
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